Leonard W Interviewed On YouTube By Big Apple Pipes

[metalheadycigarguy]

At the 34:40 mark Leonard estimates there are 1.0 to 1.2 million pipe smokers in the US.

I haven't watched/listened to the interview yet, but based off this information; I always knew that I was 1 in a Million.

 

[litup]

I haven't watched/listened to the interview yet, but based off this information; I always knew that I was 1 in a Million.

You must be a dad.

 

[AroEnglish]

With Leonard doing this interview and the one with Greywoodie I wonder if he'll be on with Brian Levine soon.

 

[Zamora]

At the 34:40 mark Leonard estimates there are 1.0 to 1.2 million pipe smokers in the US. It’s interesting to have an actual industry expert put a number on this. He says pipe smoking compared to the1960s is a declining business but with great profit margins. He says their customer base is actually “growing.” He says about 50% of all pipe tobacco in the world is smoked in the US, France and Germany.

Earlier, the interviewer alluded to the fact that the Sutliff factory shutdown in Richmond happened much more quickly than it would have in Europe due to a lack of worker protection in such layoffs, and Leonard did not dispute that, but says the decision was made by an army of analysts at STG with him (Leonard) providing his recommendations.

Leonard notes that making something like cavendish is “really messy” and done by limited manufacturers. He says at the 44:30 mark that “Sutliff was profitable as a stand alone business“ when they made the decision to shut it down.

I had no idea France was a top market, I know they have a high smoking rate in general and figured quite a few pipe smokers but didn't think it was that big

 

[WirelessSmoke]

I watched this over the weekend in a few smaller bits, but I wasn't all that surprised about anything said. It was good to get more clarification on things many speculated online though. I found some of the statistics quite interesting as I haven't come across lot of this information in my own browsing. I think many in the business might have come to the same conclusions and decisions that were made as unfortunate as they may seem.

 

[Mike N]

I watched this over the weekend in a few smaller bits, but I wasn't all that surprised about anything said. It was good to get more clarification on things many speculated online though. I found some of the statistics quite interesting as I haven't come across lot of this information in my own browsing. I think many in the business might have come to the same conclusions and decisions that were made as unfortunate as they may seem.

I still would like to see the accounting wizard who can justify a $75 million purchase, only to shut down 175 year Sutliff in America ( which was still profitable) and then essentially eviscerate Mac Baren. Was what’s left really worth $75 million and the poor public relations fiasco? In the purchase announcement SGT said it was happy that an iconic Danish company remained in Danish hands. With friends like that…

 

[Mike N]

With Leonard doing this interview and the one with Greywoodie I wonder if he'll be on with Brian Levine soon.

If so, he will face his toughest grilling yet.

 

[WirelessSmoke]

I still would like to see the accounting wizard who can justify a $75 million purchase, only to shut down 175 year Sutliff in America ( which was still profitable) and then essentially eviscerate Mac Baren. Was what’s left really worth $75 million and the poor public relations fiasco? In the purchase announcement SGT said it was happy that an iconic Danish company remained in Danish hands. With friends like that…

From the outside it sure doesn't make sense. The value could be in the raw materials, real estate, whatever equipment they keep from Mac Baren, branding, and who knows what else. I'm just speculating. I don't know how profitable Sutliff was but apparently not enough for STG to justify keeping a plant open overseas. It seems to me whatever SKUs they had left after cutting the others, weren't enough to justify running a separate plant. Again I'm just speculating.

 

[Zamora]

I still would like to see the accounting wizard who can justify a $75 million purchase, only to shut down 175 year Sutliff in America ( which was still profitable) and then essentially eviscerate Mac Baren. Was what’s left really worth $75 million and the poor public relations fiasco? In the purchase announcement SGT said it was happy that an iconic Danish company remained in Danish hands. With friends like that…

Me too, it really does seem like they just bought it to shut it down and get rid of the competition. I don't think the blends they're keeping are collectively worth such a hefty price tag, especially when they have 1Q / Captain Black which purportedly sold more than all of Sutliff's portfolio combined.

 

[sablebrush52]

I still would like to see the accounting wizard who can justify a $75 million purchase, only to shut down 175 year Sutliff in America ( which was still profitable) and then essentially eviscerate Mac Baren. Was what’s left really worth $75 million and the poor public relations fiasco? In the purchase announcement SGT said it was happy that an iconic Danish company remained in Danish hands. With friends like that…

With regard to the Danish hands, think Hamlet.

As for the accounting Genius, they bought MacBaren for 78 million, which is one hell of a lot less than the over $200 million that they paid for Lane 13 years earlier. Along the way, they pick up a bunch of IP's that they can use, one way or another, blends with established markets, kill off a rival house or two, and acquire properties that they can sell off or develop. They will make the money back and them some.

 

[Zamora]

With regard to the Danish hands, think Hamlet.

As for the accounting Genius, they bought MacBaren for 78 million, which is one hell of a lot less than the over $200 million that they paid for Lane 13 years earlier. Along the way, they pick up a bunch of IP's that they can use, one way or another, blends with established markets, kill off a rival house or two, and acquire properties that they can sell off or develop. They will make the money back and them some.

If the sales happened around the same time I think Lane probably still probably would've been worth significantly more, I think Captain Black / 1Q are that big

 

[Skippy B. Coyote]

I just finished watching the entire interview from start to finish and it really reframed my perspective on the acquisition. My opinion fairly well went from "Oh no, they're getting rid of almost all the Sutliff and Mac Baren blends! They must be trying to kill the pipe tobacco market and bought out the competition just to eliminate them!" to "Mac Baren decided to call it quits and STG is saving the blends that sold well enough to fit their large scale business model."

Unfortunately there's not a ton of blends that sold the kind of volume STG deals in to make them viable to continue producing from a business perspective, but I am glad that a good number of the all time classics like Capstan Blue, Three Nuns, and St. Bruno will be sticking around (even if I am profoundly sad about the loss of War Horse Bar and War Horse Green). It also reminds me that I really need to try Mac Baren Mixture Scottish Blend, since apparently it's wildly popular but I've strangely never had it before.

On that note, since Leonard probably has access to the data, I'd be really curious to know what the top 10 best selling pipe blends in the US and Europe are!

 

[Zamora]

I just finished watching the entire interview from start to finish and it really reframed my perspective on the acquisition. My opinion fairly well went from "Oh no, they're getting rid of almost all the Sutliff and Mac Baren blends! They must be trying to kill the pipe tobacco market and bought out the competition just to eliminate them!" to "Mac Baren decided to call it quits and STG is saving the blends that sold well enough to fit their large scale business model."

Unfortunately there's not a ton of blends that sold the kind of volume STG deals in to make them viable to continue producing from a business perspective, but I am glad that a good number of the all time classics like Capstan Blue, Three Nuns, and St. Bruno will be sticking around (even if I am profoundly sad about the loss of War Horse Bar and War Horse Green). It also reminds me that I really need to try Mac Baren Mixture Scottish Blend, since apparently it's wildly popular but I've strangely never had it before.

On that note, since Leonard probably has access to the data, I'd be really curious to know what the top 10 best selling pipe blends in the US and Europe are!

Yeah while I'm still upset with STG I'm far more annoyed with the Mac Baren heirs who chose to sell in the first place. Scottish Blend is great, starts out as a good but typical VaBur then becomes spicy from the Kentucky. I bought it because I didn't pay close enough attention to the list of stuff being kept but I'm glad I got it.

 

[Peterson314]

I love Scottish Blend. I haven't re-upped in a while, just because I want to try different stuff. But I bought Scottish Blend for every new pipe smoker I outfitted.

That said, Scottish Blend is made from 35 different leaves from around the world. It seems impossible to maintain 35 different varietals if the only buyer is Scottish Blend.